Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Three Players From Mexico

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed 17-year-old right-handed pitcher Eumir Sepúlveda and 18-year-old right-hander Carlos Bustamante, both out of Mexico. They will report to the Pirates facility in the Dominican and begin their pro career in the Dominican Summer League next year. Sepulveda took a leap forward in the last year, adding eight MPH to his fastball. He is a highly accomplished amateur pitch, who was also scouted by the Boston Red Sox. The Pirates have been following Bustamante for several months and they believe he has considerable potential.

Both players were signed by Pirates scout Jesus Valdez and they are the fourth and fifth players the Pirates have signed from Leones de Yucatan of the Mexican League. In 2012, the Pirates signed pitchers Omar Basulto and Eduardo Vera, plus first baseman Julio Perez. Basulto was invited to the Fall Instructional League this year.

A third player was signed on Thursday, an 18-year-old catcher named Mikell Granberry, who is also from the Leones de Yucatan club. He is a catcher, who is said to be an athletic receiver, that is strong defensively, with a plus arm and strong hands. He has above average speed on the basepaths for a catcher and he makes good contact at the plate, though his hitting needs work to reach his potential. Like Sepulveda and Bustamante, Granberry will begin his career in the Dominican Summer League next year. You can view two videos of Granberry below, one catching and one hitting.

John Dreker

John was born in Kearny, NJ, hometown of the 2B for the Pirates 1909 World Championship team, Dots Miller. In fact they have some of the same relatives in common, so it was only natural for him to become a lifelong Pirates fan. Before joining Pirates Prospects in July 2010, John had written numerous articles on the history of baseball while also releasing his own book and co-authoring another on the history of the game. He writes a weekly article on Pirates history for the site, has already interviewed many of the current minor leaguers with many more on the way and follows the foreign minor league teams very closely for the site. John also provides in person game reports of the West Virginia Power and Altoona Curve.

Out of this group, he was the highest rated, though the other two have some potential. He doesn’t have that typical catcher body, but his defense is strong and he doesn’t hit enough just yet to move from behind the plate. He has excellent speed, though like with most catchers, wear and tear will knock that down. His swing looked good in the video, not a lot of movement, quick hands, but he needs work

SportOMania

Granberry sorta reminds me of Mike Lieberthal when he was first drafted.